Donie Murphy

Donie Murphy
Personal information
Irish name	Dónall Ó Murchú
Sport	Gaelic football
Position	Left corner-back
Born	1929; Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland
Died	16 April 2010 (aged 80); Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Occupation	Agricultural instructor
Club(s)
Years	Club
	Killarney Legion; Dick Fitzgeralds; Clann na nGael
Club titles
Kerry titles	2
Colleges(s)
Years	College
	University College Galway
College titles
Sigerson titles	1
Inter-county(ies)
Years	County
1948-1955	Kerry
Inter-county titles
Munster titles	6
All-Irelands	1
NFL	0

Donal Murphy (1929 – 16 April 2010) was an Irish Gaelic footballer who played at club level with Killarney Legion and at inter-county level with the Kerry senior football team. He usually lined out as a defender.

Career

Murphy first came to Gaelic football prominence as a member of the Killarney Legion club, with whom he won a County Championship title in 1946.^[1] He later won a Sigerson Cup title with University College Galway in 1949 before winning a second County Championship title with the Dick Fitzgeralds club in 1951. Murphy first appeared on the inter-county scene during a two-year stint with the Kerry minor football team and won an All-Ireland Minor Championship title in 1946.^[2] He was drafted onto the Kerry senior football team in 1948, however, his career was blighted by illness. A bout of pleurisy in 1951 necessitated a six-week stay in hospital and left a legacy which would later end his career. Murphy claimed an All-Ireland Championship title in 1953 after a defeat of Armagh in the final. His other honours include six Munster Championship medals and inclusion on the Munster team on a number of occasions.^[3]^[4] Murphy's inter-county career ended abruptly after the 1955 Munster final when a bout of tuberculosis resulted in a 17-month period of hospitalisation.^[5] He returned to club activity with Legion before later winning consecutive County Championship titles with the Clann na nGael club in Kilkenny. Murphy also made an inter-county return as a member of the Kilkenny junior football team in 1964.

Murphy worked as an agricultural advisor with the Department of Agriculture in counties Kerry, Limerick and Kilkenny before settling in Castlebar, County Mayo in 1968. He retired from this position in 1988.

Murphy died in Castlebar on 16 April 2010.^[6]

^ Keys, Colm (8 November 2015). "Ugly scenes as Kerry rivals Legion and South Kerry draw after generous added time". Irish Independent. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
^ "Minor football". Munster GAA website. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
^ "Senior Football". Munster GAA website. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
^ "Railway Cup Football". Munster GAA website. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
^ "1955 - Kerry beat Dublin and the story of Donie Murphy". Terrace Talk website. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
^ "The late Donie Murphy". Hogan Stand. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 18 September 2021.